Five things we learnt at the Golden Shears Awards

Last night
GQ headed to the historic Merchant Tailor's Hall to attend
the Golden Shears Awards 2013 - the biennial "Oscars of tailoring".
From our front row seat we saw 25 of the country's most
promising suit makers competing for the biggest accolade in the
bespoke industry, the Golden Shears - a prize decided by two expert
panels: one of Savile Row insiders offering a technical eye
on the designs and another of celebrity fans (including Joanna
Lumley, Raymond Blanc, Hilary Alexander and Nick Hewer). Surrounded
by industry stalwarts, new names and some of the best dressed
tailors you'll ever see, there's nowhere better to get a look at
what's going on in the industry. Here are the five things we
learnt…

The biggest colour trend on the
night
One common thread running through the outfits on display to
tailors in the audience was claret. From dark red skull print braces to
burgundy pocket squares, men kept things simple with their suiting
and letting their accessories speak for themselves. Best in show
has to go to Maurice Sedwell apprentice and part time rabbi Yosel Tiefenbrun who splashed out with
matching a trilby, bow tie and pocket square.

Who'll run the tailoring world?
Girls.
Not only were the vast majority of entrants female this year but
all three awards on offer were scooped by women: the Rising Star
Silver Shears by Havering College student Yan Zhang, the second
prize Silver Shears by Anderson & Sheppard apprentice Jennie McWalter and the coveted Golden shears
by Henry Poole & Co. apprentice Emily Squires.

Reinventing bespoke, one pattern at a
time
While the key theme for the menswear winners last night was
twisting up very traditional bespoke tailoring, there was a more
fashion forward undercurrent at the show seen in the use of
eye-catching print. Of particular note was McWalter's eye-catching
silk linings dotted with hunting-inspired prints and Huntsman
apprentice Dionne Reeves' blue and orange African-inspired shirt,
which wouldn't look out of place styled up on one of the Gentlemen of Bacongo.

Why braces need to make a
comeback
After her turn on the catwalk with her winning entry, we grabbed a moment with this
year's Golden Shears winner Emily Squires to ask her what is the
one item of traditional tailoring that she'd like to see make a
return? "Brace top trousers," she replied without missing a beat.
"I've seen more and more guys wearing braces recently, but they're
not wearing them with the proper high-waisted, button-top trousers.
Oh, and frock coats!" You heard it here first.

Why no menswear event is complete without
David Gandy
Despite a strong showing of Savile Row's finest, the most
in-demand guest judge was David Gandy - expertly turned out, as always,
in a bespoke gunmetal blue three-piece suit by Thom Sweeney.

Nick Carvell

Nick is Fashion Editor of GQ.co.uk. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @nickcarvell.